Published: February 08, 2008 09:14 am         

No serving of funds for meals program

Meals on Wheels director says county funding mechanism must change to receive state grant

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

The Texas Department of Agriculture awarded approximately $9.5 million to almost 100 agencies across the state that serve meals to homebound elderly or disabled citizens – unfortunately Palo Pinto County’s programs weren’t among the recipients.

Meals on Wheels of Palo Pinto County Executive Director Patty Clark said that the program wasn’t eligible for a grant this year based on how they receive funding from the county.

According to the TDA, House Bill 407, passed during the 80th legislative session, created the grant program. The bill, Texans Feeding Texans: Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program, gives extra funding to home-delivered meal providers for 2008 and 2009. The grants are based in part on the number of meals that eligible applicants served in the previous year and can only be used to supplement and expand services related to the delivery of meals.

TDA spokeswoman Veronica Obregon said they received approximately 100 applicants for grants. The awarded grants ranged from $1,000 to $1.4 million.

“We’ve got providers with 197 meals like Frio County as opposed to Travis County with 300,000 meals,” Obregon noted.

Clark said the program will definitely be applying next year for a grant. They need to show the community supports the program, she added.

“It’s just a matter of going before commissioners court,” she said.

The county currently contributes to the program but sends it to the North Central Texas Council of Government’s Area Agency on Aging, which matches the donation and sends it to Meals on Wheels, Clark explained. In order to qualify for the grant program, “We’ll just have the county send the check to us and we’ll send the check to NCTCOG.”

She explained the amount of the grant is based upon several factors such as land mass and the number of elderly population. The grant money can only be used for meals for elderly citizens who are not getting a reimbursement through another program.

“The home-delivered meal program keeps people out of institutional care and in the comfort of their own homes. This saves taxpayers money and gives seniors and those with special needs an opportunity to live where they are secure, happy and healthy,” said Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, in a press release. Watson cosponsored the bill with Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa.

“Home-delivered meal agencies have provided an amazing service to Texas, feeding in excess of five million meals annually to hungry residents, but they’ve not been able to do so alone,” stated Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. “These agencies have depended on private donations to operate and while the Texas Department of Agriculture is honored to be a public partner this year and next, the demand for home-delivered meals will continue and so will the need for private contributions.”

The deadline for the 2008 grant is in November.